


Late night delirium

by Kevaroni



Category: One Day at a Time (TV 2017)
Genre: Fever, Gen, Schneider thinks too much, Sickfic, Vomiting, elena alex and lydia are just mentioned, stomach bug
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-07
Updated: 2018-08-07
Packaged: 2019-06-23 09:06:36
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,201
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15603009
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kevaroni/pseuds/Kevaroni
Summary: Sick in bed, Schneider ponders





	Late night delirium

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first work, so leaving a kudos would really be appreciated. :)

When Schneider woke up, he was 100 percent convinced he was dying. When he was being jolted awake with sweat pouring down his back and his stomach screaming at him at 3 AM, there wasn’t many other conclusions he could draw. He was dying. He was going to sweat to death.

Once he got the fog out of his mind, he realized he probably wasn’t dying. He was just sick. His stomach violently churned and he felt feverish. He probably should get up, take his temperature, and drink water. However he couldn’t risk moving in case his stomach portrayed him.

Maybe I should call Pen he thought. He couldn’t though. He couldn’t just beg her to come over at his every need. Especially at 3 AM. No, he was going to deal with this by himself. It’s like father said when he was 7. It’s time to be independent and quit your whining.

When was the last time he called father? Had he ever since he moved out? When had father called him? His fever addled brain couldn’t even remember. Maybe he should. At least to let him know that he wasn’t in rehab. He wondered what he would think of the Alvarez family. He would probably make a snide racist remark and tell him to grow up. Maybe he should. How long could he continue to project the idea of a perfect family on them?

What kind of example was he setting for the kids anyway? Elena always says that he was the epitome of rich privileged white men. Was he just teaching them that drugs weren't that big of a deal if you were rich enough? Alex didn't need those ideas in his head, not at the age he was. If they try drugs, what could he even say to the that wasn't hypocritical.

A strong stomach cramp brought him out of his thoughts. He curled up and let out a soft moan. He couldn’t even remember being so sick before. If he didn’t know he was 100 percent sober, he would have thought he was in withdrawals. This felt like his 5th withdrawal. That was the easiest one. His 6th was hell, weirdly enough. Though, you never forget your first. The only good thing about the withdrawal and rehab was Lydia bringing him soup.

The thought of soup ended bringing the stomach contents he was working hard to keep down back up. He jumped out of bed and ran to the bathroom to get violently sick in his toilet. He took a few deep breaths and leaned against the wall. He figured now that he was in here, he might as well take his temperature. He grabbed the thermometer out of the cabinet and turned it on. It took considerable effort to stay awake for the few seconds it took. The device beeped and snapped him awake. He took it out and stared at it.

It was at this moment that he realized that he had never put on his glasses. He squinted at the reading and rubbed his eyes. He could barely push past the regular blur and fever blur. It was 100 and something. He put it down and felt another wave of nausea hit him. He threw up again and returned to his wall spot. He started to feel a little better and managed to get up. He considered a glass of water but his stomach somersaults ruled that out.

He sat down on the bed and grabbed his glasses. He squinted at his clock. 4:03. Had it really been an hour? He realized he should probably go to sleep. Though he felt too sick to fall asleep. He felt like his body had been lit on fire.

When was the last time he was sick? He didn’t count withdrawals. It had been a while. He had had the flu a few years ago. He ended up giving it to half the building because he was the only person to fix anything. He grimaced at that. The tenants were not happy with him. Every time he had been sick he was alone. Even as a kid, with all of his moms, he was alone when he was sick. Not just sick. He was alone period. He closed his eyes to let himself take a break from his thoughts.

He woke up to nausea and sunlight. He checked his clock to see it was 9:28 AM. He grabbed his phone to check his texts. He saw a bunch of texts from Penelope.

7:11 Pen: Mami wants to know where you are for breakfast. 

7:17 Pen: I assume you’re still asleep. I have the day off so come by whenever for leftovers.

8:30 Pen: You still asleep? You’re usually up by now.

8:53 Pen: Mami and I are worried. I have the spare key you gave me if you don’t respond.

9:00 Pen: If you don’t text me back in 10 minutes, I’m coming up.

9:10 Pen: I’m coming up

Schneider looked up and realized that he heard movement in his kitchen. His stomach suddenly tightened and he sprinted to the bathroom. He threw up again and took deep breaths. He was getting pretty tired of being this sick. He felt a hand on his back and looked up to see Penelope.

“ Are you done?” She asked. He thought for a second and nodded. She helped back to bed and handed him a glass of water.

“ I’m sorry I worried you.” He croaked.

“ Frankly Schneider, I’m kind of mad at you. I come up here with my ear thermometer, just in case you were sick. I took your temperature and it was 104. You’ve been running a fever like that by yourself all night and you didn’t text anyone. I don’t even think you drank water.”

“ I’m sorry. I thought I could handle it and I didn’t think you’d want to get a text from me at 3 AM whining about being sick.” He said.

“ Schneider, if I got a text from you at 3 AM about your special quiche recipe I’d be pretty annoyed but if you text me anytime saying you’re sick and need help, it’s not annoying. I’m Cuban. If someone is sick, they force feed and pray over you until you either recover ot rise to Jesus.” She said. Penelope saw Schneider face pale and realized food was not a good conversation topic. “ The point is that if you’re sick, it’s my job to make sure you’re fine. You’re family.”

He wasn’t sure if he was more emotional and delirious from the fever or Penelope was hitting him in a particular soft spot but he felt a few tears come out of his eyes. Penelope sighed and pulled him into a hug.

“ Now drink that. You’re dehydrated.” She said. He wiped his eyes and began to take small sips. “ I’m gonna finish your breakfast and bring you some medicine.” She left him alone with his water. He looked down and smiled. After all this time, it still surprised him that he was welcomed into Penelope’s family. That he wasn’t alone for once in his life.


End file.
